I know that I have acclimated to Virginia weather because this morning it was snowing like crazy and I looked outside and thought "That's not too bad. This will be a great day to go out and get coffee." We ended up getting 3 inches and again I am thinking to myself: "That's nothing!!" In Texas if we get anything that LOOKS like snow you hole up in the house and don't come out until the sun does. Sometimes even if it is just rain we think "Nope- too much weather out there. I am staying put!" In fact in Texas we don't think or talk about the weather too much. It is going to be sunny and fairly warm. If there is going to be a change- say rain or a cold front- it will be for several hours at the most. And if by some miracle we are lucky enough to get a good thunderstorm, people pull out their lawn chairs and sit on their porches like we are going to have a fireworks show! In Virginia weather is a BIG thing. There are long periods of time where it is very cold (I am told this is called winter) and long periods of time where it rains (again I am TOLD that this is why people are allowed to water their lawns all year around. But if it is raining all the time- who needs to water?!). You have to have varying degrees of warm clothes: something for blizzard conditions, something for wet and cold conditions, and something for "crisp" conditions. Winter is the North's big season. When you go to a restaurant around here they have coat hooks for you to hang up your coat before you sit down. In the churches there are vast coat closets to shed you outer wear before the sermon starts. In Texas people look at you strangely if you have a coat on. They are thinking "He's not native to these parts- if he was he'd know it's not going to be cold long enough to justify the hassle of a coat!"

Now if you will excuse me, I have a date (in blizzard conditions) with my husband to get ready for. I think I'll wear my long johns!